The past always catches up
by amanderr95
Summary: At age 15 Clarke loses her dad. He up and disappears one fall evening. 15 years later, to the day, Clarke gets word of a tip on her father's whereabouts. Detective Bellamy Blake is on the case. Hopefully the case, one of her missing father along with their personal feelings, can be solved.
1. Chapter 1

15 years ago...

My feet are pounding along the sidewalk, my breathings harsh and I'm covered in a thin layer of sweat. I don't know where I'm running to, anywhere but here. I can't think and my heads spinning. I stop running and put my head between my knees trying to calm my breathing. Instead I retch off into some bushes. I wipe my mouth on the back of my hand and sit down against a tree, I pull my knees up to my chest and lay my head on them. Mumbling incoherently to myself I didn't hear the footsteps come up behind me.

"Princess?" A husky voice asks.

I didn't meet his gaze, instead I continued to look out into the woods, hoping he'll go away.

"That's not gonna work." He said as he sat next to me, pulling me into him.

I reluctantly let him while looking into his eyes, searching for an answer. He just looked at me with sad eyes. Hugging me close to his body, he hummed a soft melody while rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"Bell? Do you think they'll find him?" I whisper into his chest.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. I sure hope so." Bellamy answered.

I look around at my surroundings. I've made it to the outskirts of town. The fall leaves are mostly made up of reds, oranges and some yellows. The last traces of Summer slowly disappearing. The evening has a slight chill to it. I shiver. I know it must be getting late and my mother will be worried, especially when she calls me cell phone to find it off. Bellamy noticed my slight shiver and takes off his sweatshirt and hands it to me.

"Thanks." I mumble and slide it over my head.

Present Day…

"CLARKE! Let's go!" Octavia hollers from down the hall.

"Give me a minute." I holler back.

Today marks the fifteenth year my father's been missing and I'm getting ready for Octavia's and Raven's tradition; Get dressed up in a nice outfit, go visit my father's "grave", have dinner and then them trying to convince me to get drunk to help take the edge off of today. I dress up in a modest black dress with a pair of black heels along with a pearl necklace and diamond earrings. Something about today feels off. Even more off than not knowing where my father's body is, or if he's even alive.  
"Mom I don't understand, I JUST spoke to him not even an hour ago!" I cry into the phone as my mother, Abby, tells me that my father's missing.

"Clarke, listen to me honey.. He's not returning my calls and I've traced his cellphone. I went to the location and that was all I found. I plan on looking again until I can file a missing person report." Abby explains into the phone.

I just stay on the end of the line silent taking in the information blankly. My bloods run cold and I'm hyperventilating.

"I've got to go." I say as I hang up the phone.

I run, leaving my friends behind. I've gone into flight mode and I have no idea where I'm going, running until I can't run anymore. I take off down the street as my names being shouted. I don't really hear them, just going on instinct and escaping reality for a moment…

I'm pulled out of my memories by Raven walking into my room and saying my name.

"Clarke? Clarke? Are you ready?"

"Yeah Raven I am." I respond unevenly.

"What's wrong?" Raven asks.

I laugh bitterly "I'm going to visit an empty grave. I don't know where my father is. It's been fifteen years and no one's heard a peep, nothing Raven, nothing!"

Raven just stands there watching me with her head cocked to the side, like she knows something that I don't. We stand there having a stare off until I blush with embarrassment and look away.

"Look I'm sorry.. I just have a bad feeling about today. I can't explain it. I- I-" I stop and take a steadying breath " I just don't know anymore. I know my mother's going to call and I really can't handle her right now. My father was the glue to our family. He held us together. With him gone it's like my mother and I are strangers. She has Marcus, and I have you, Octavia, Jasper and Monty." I stop and sit down, bringing my hands to my face and wipe away a couple of tears.

Both Raven and Octavia come and sit beside me. Both hugging me from each side. There silence is comforting. I love having them as two of my best friends. I don't know what I would do without them. I look over and smile.

"Let's go, we have flowers to buy and a my father to see!" I hop up trying to lighten the mood…

Hey guys! So this is my Very First fanfic so bare with me. Let me know what you think.. And Enjoy!


	2. Old faces

Chapter 2

"FINALLY." Comes a voice as Raven, Octavia and myself come bounding down the driveway.

"Calm down Jas, Clarke needed a moment." Octavia answered while giving him a look.

I smiled weakly. I love my boys, Jasper and Monty, but sometimes they were a little antsy. But as all good traditions go everyone needs to be there for the "celebration." Everyone except one, Bellamy. Bellamy was two years older than me, seventeen when my father disappeared. After he turned nineteen and graduated high school he went off to college, Harvard to be exact, half way across the world. The only one who ever heard from him was Octavia. Which is understandable because that's her brother. But it still hurt. He was the one to come find me after I took off that evening. Bringing me back to his house and just laying in his bed while he played with my hair and humming softly to me. Attempting to calm me down. He made sure I always felt safe. No one could bother me for the first three months. He made sure of that. To have him as a constant in my life for two years was a huge deal. I cried on his shoulder more times than I can count. He was my rock and just having him up and leave? That hurt just as much as not knowing what happened to my father. Of course over those two years I grew attached to Bellamy, I came to love him. At some point I'm pretty sure I even fell in love with him. I'd never tell him that though. He just looked at me as a little sister. Someone who needed his protection. Someone who..

"Earth to Clarke." Raven said while snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"What?" I asked shaking away my thoughts.

"Just making sure you're still with us. Were almost there by the way." Raven answered.

I look around the car at all of my friends, smile to myself and look out the car window. I see the cemetery coming into view and my heart sinks a little. It's very beautiful though. Gorgeous shades of green. It's a huge clearing with many headstones in rows of eight. We pull up to the back of the cemetery in a corner with many trees and a rose bush I planted ten years ago. The bush is in bloom and it looks peaceful and quiet. My stomach sinks knowing there's no body beneath the ground.

We all sit down and tell stories of Jake, my father, who was pretty much everyone's father. He had a huge heart and loved everyone. Respected people and was very charismatic, an all around joy to be around. He could make anyone smile, even on their darkest days.

"I ask myself this all the time but I truly do wonder what happened to him and where he is." Clarke wondered aloud.

"Honestly? I don't know, but what I do know is that it had to be something huge for dad to go missing." Octavia mused.

Jasper and Monty just shook there head in agreement. Raven looked off into the clearing as a car came bounding there way. She stood up pulling me with her. Octavia looked up from her phone and shrieked "BELL!"

"What?!" I asked confused.

Bellamy got out his car with his trademark smirk on his face and bounded toward us. Boy did he really grow up. He was what, thirty two now? He was dressed in an detectives uniform, throwing me off. A hardened look in his eye showed he meant business.

"Clarke." He acknowledged me. "I have something to tell you." He continues as he pulls me aside.

My heart starts racing and my palms are sweating profoundly. I take a shaky breathe and ask "What is it?" with big round frightened eyes.

He fiddles with his watch before answering me "I received a call a couple days ago about a lead on your father's whereabouts. They want to search the area. First they want to collect as much evidence as possible along with other leads. One way or another the force is going to find him, Clarke."

I just look at the ground, trying to control all of the emotions running through my veins. I finally look up to the unreadable mask on his face.

"Is that why you came back? For the case?" I ask hardening my features while my heart slowly breaks all over again.

He rubs his hand on the back of neck, like he used to when he didn't really know what to say. "Yeah it is. I felt that this was my responsibility to bring him home. You deserve to know he's home. Even if it's just his bones…" He looks at me "Princess… Look at me."

I look at him with clouded eyes "What?"

"I know this is a lot to take in. How about we do lunch and we can go over all that I know?" His expression is hopeful but he still has an edge to him.

"Sure.." I answer. I walk over to our friends who are casually acting like they didn't just eavesdrop. Looking everywhere but at me.

"Bell-amy and I are going to go have lunch and catch up." I mention while studying my shoes intentelly.

Octavia raises her eyebrow at me and Bellamy. While Jasper and Monty continue talking about harvest season and buying a new distiller. Raven just looks at me questionably.

"Okay." They reply in unison.

I walk off towards Bellamy who is mouthing to Octavia that he'd call her later. We looked at eachother. I blushed and looked away first while climbing into his 1967 chevy impala and smile.

"Let's go." He shakes his head and starts the car. 


End file.
